The Mirror of Narcissus - Secular Songs by Guillaume de Machaut [Import]

Peter McCrae (Performer), Colin Scott Mason (Performer), Guillaume de Machaut (Composer), Christopher Page (Conductor), Gothic Voices (Performer), Emily Van Evera (Performer), Emma Kirkby (Performer), Andrew King (Performer), Rogers Covey-Crump (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Peter McCrae, Colin Scott Mason, Gothic Voices, Emily Van Evera, Emma Kirkby, et al.
• Conductor: Christopher Page
• Composer: Guillaume de Machaut
• Audio CD (November 11, 1993)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B000002ZGV
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,018 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #2 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Virelais
  • #32 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Rondos
  • #74 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Ballads

Track Listings

1. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Dame, de qui toute ma joie vient - ballade

2. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Foy porter - virelai

3. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Dame, je sui cilz-Fins cuers doulz - motet

4. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Tuit mi penser - virelai

5. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Dame, mon cuer en vous remaint - rondelet

6. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Dame, a qui - virelai

7. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Biaute qui toutes autres pere - ballade

8. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Je vivroie liement - virelai

9. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Rose, liz, printemps, verdure - rondeau

10. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Dame, a vous sans retollir - virelai

11. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Amours me fait desirer - ballade

12. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Douce dame jolie - virelai

13. The Mirror Of Narcissus: Inviolata genitrix-Felix virgo-Ad te suspiramus - motet

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They just don't write songs like this anymore!, November 6, 1999

By 

Nelson R. Willis "Rob Willis" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mirror of Narcissus - Secular Songs by Guillaume de Machaut (Audio CD)

Guillaume de Machaut was a very interesting figure. He was born around 1300 and lived to be quite old, especially considering that life expectancies were much shorter then than now. And even though there were no sound recordings at the time, there was written music for those who could afford to study music. In his old age Machaut was saught out by a groopie of sorts. A young woman came to admire him when she learned some of his music. The two met in person and actually had a relationship for a while.

Enough gossip, though. Guillaume de Machaut wrote some of the finest medieval music I've ever heard. Indeed, he wrote some of the finest music I've ever heard, period.

This album is so beautiful; it takes you to a place that one might mistake for heaven. You will think that you are listening to angels singing in French when you hear it. The entire album is _a capella_; that is to say that the only instruments you will hear are human voices. Some of the tracks such as "Foy Porter," and "Tuit Mi Penser" are monophonic; that is to say that only one voice is present, sometimes male, sometimes female. These monophonic songs are extrememly pretty; they have very pleasing and interesting melodies and rhythms -- just as sophisticated as anything one might hear in later periods, but different in style both compositionally and in terms of performance. The singing on this album is world-class. The singing style and technique is very interesting and pleasing to the ear. The range of pitches is pretty wide, yet even the higher registers are smooth and natural, not overwhelming or grating like some opera sopranos can be at times.

The best material on the album, though, is polyphonic; that is music with several voices which create harmonies and counterpoint. There are four- and five-part harmonies that are out of this world, mixing male and female voices in a manner one might describe as an otherworldly, Francophonic, medieval barber shop quartet/quintet. If the Beach Boys had grown up in 14th-century France, they would have been performing music like this. "Dame, Je Sui Cilz/Fins Cuers Doulz," and "Dame, Mon Cuer En Vous Remaint" are two such songs, and my personal favorite is "Dame, DE Qui Toute Ma Joie Vient." The counterpoint and counterrhythms are as sophisticated and impressive as the harmonies. It's really quite stunning, ethereal, beautiful music. If you like early music, you will love this. If you are not yet familiar with much early music, this album would be a wonderful introduction.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great musicianship and purity of tone, January 27, 2006

By 

S. Jacobson (Portland OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mirror of Narcissus - Secular Songs by Guillaume de Machaut (Audio CD)

This is one of my favorite early music CDs and perhaps my favorite Machaut CD. Wonderful material, intelligently presented, sung by gorgeous voices with perfect pitch control. Groups like Gothic Voices are sometimes criticized for being too perfect (i.e., real medieval musicians wouldn't have been this good and/or polished), but to my ears this is wonderful stuff. Highly recommended.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unmatched Machaut, April 29, 2007

By 

Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Mirror of Narcissus - Secular Songs by Guillaume de Machaut (Audio CD)

I'd forgotten this disk in a corner of my collection until I heard an concert by another group, Liber UnUsualis. I reviewed their CD "Unrequited" quite enthusiastically, but then I searched for "The Mirror of Narcissus" and listened to the two head-to-head. Results: both good, but "The Mirror" is more intense, more passionate, and more artful in articulating the hockets and other effects of Ars Nova heterophony. If Gothic Voices ever had a reputation of being "academic but dull", that was a bad rap. This performance is fiery.